Forward

In January 2016, Jacob Riley-Wasserman passed away from the disease he had fought with unwavering hope for more than two years.

His creativity, sense of discovery and optimism are what inspired him to launch the Flip4Cancer initiative. It was just prior to the Fourth of July 2014 when Jacob put his increasingly successful Star Spangled Spatula design to work in the fight against cancer.

THE STORY

In September of 2013, at the age of 23, on my second day of graduate school at NYU, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

I returned home to southern New Jersey with my parents and immediately began treating a cancer I never saw coming.

This has no doubt been an eventful year for me. Experiencing the ups and downs of cancer treatment, proton radiation therapy, chemotherapy, the unforeseen metastasis in my liver, exploring clinical trials in immunotherapy, it has been a lot to take in. But as scary and overwhelming as it is , it has also been a fascinating and eye opening learning experience.

With help from my incredible and brilliant team at Abramson Cancer Center at UPENN in Philadelphia, the never ending support from friends and family, and my fighting spirit, I am happy to report that treatment continues to yield positive and encouraging results.

The Spatula

As an undergraduate student at Rhode Island School of Design, inspired by my love of cooking, I created the Star Spangled Spatula as a companion piece for an outdoor grill I was working on. At the time I had no idea how successful the piece would end up being. It wasn't until after graduating in 2012, and some encouragement from friends and family, that I decided to pitch the product to Brooklyn based company AREAWARE. The Star Spangled Spatula (made entirely in the USA) is now sold in stores across the country and online.

After over two years of seeing the spatula pop up in some of my favorite stores and magazines, and after battling cancer for what will be a year in September, I thought "wouldn't it be great if this spatula could help fight cancer?". What if I gave back %50 of what I make, to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

So starting now I am excited to announce that is exactly what I am doing. With the purchase of a Star Spangled Spatula or a direct donation you will be helping me and the Abramson Cancer Center in an effort to research, treat, fight, and kill Cancer.

The Abramson Cancer Center is one of a select group of cancer centers in the country awarded the prestigious designation of Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This status, which has been awarded to the Abramson Cancer Center continuously for the past 40 years, reflects our outstanding research, clinical services, education and information services and community outreach.